


there's an art to it

by Sholio



Category: The Defenders (Marvel TV)
Genre: Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Male-Female Friendship, Missing Scene
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-23
Updated: 2019-12-23
Packaged: 2021-02-26 02:15:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,473
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21915853
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sholio/pseuds/Sholio
Summary: It's been months since Claire last saw Matt Murdock, and so ofcoursethis is her first sight of him, battered and bloody and unconscious in the precinct's squad room. Because he can't just call her up and say "Hi, how are you Claire, want to get lunch?" like a normal person.
Relationships: Matt Murdock & Claire Temple
Comments: 11
Kudos: 85
Collections: Yuletide 2019





	there's an art to it

**Author's Note:**

  * For [luckydip](https://archiveofourown.org/users/luckydip/gifts).



> You requested more interaction between Claire and Matt at the precinct in Defenders, so I hope this will satisfy!

It's been months since Claire last saw Matt Murdock, and so of _course_ this is her first sight of him, battered and bloody and unconscious in the precinct's squad room. Because he can't just call her up and say "Hi, how are you Claire, want to get lunch?" like a normal person. And Luke --

"Your call, Claire," Misty says, and Claire tears her eyes away from Luke even as she's already feeling for his vitals, and meets Misty's studied calm. "Can you handle this, or do we send 'em to Metro General?"

"I'll handle it," she says immediately. Doesn't have to think about it. Luke _can't_ go there, and they can't help him anyway. As for Matt -- it might become necessary, but he doesn't look like he's hemorrhaging badly or having trouble breathing, and she's pretty sure he wouldn't want the questions that would go along with checking into a hospital, either. "Can we get them somewhere private?"

She triages Luke first, because at least she knows the broad strokes of what's wrong with Matt, but she's only seen a few things that could take Luke down this hard and none of them are good. All his vitals are strong, though -- breathing is steady, heart rate's good. And there's nothing else she can do for him. She leaves Colleen keeping an eye on him and goes down the hall to find where they've taken Matt.

As it turns out, he's on a couch in a private office, with Foggy Nelson protesting loudly as Matt has his shirt stripped off by a pair of glove-wearing officers, and not gently either. Matt seems to be mostly out of it, but there's some faint struggling, a half-hearted swing at one of the cops that's easily deflected before his arm is pinned.

"Watch it, he could have broken ribs! Do you _want_ a brutality lawsuit?" Foggy's voice is somewhere between a professional courtroom voice and a cracked sound of desperation.

"He's right," Claire says, and Foggy gives her a grateful look, while the officer holding Matt so her partner can manhandle off his shirt just looks exasperated. "What are you stripping him for?"

"Blood samples," says Officer #2. The shirt finally comes free, and he stuffs it into an evidence bag. "You the nurse? They said you were coming down."

"I am." Claire moves in to replace Officer #1, not _quite_ elbowing her out of the way, but, well ... she's dealt with a lot of pushy relatives and intrusive badge-wearing visitors at work, that's all. She's pretty good at shoving her way into places she's not necessarily wanted, and shoving other people out.

Foggy helps her ease Matt back down to the couch. He relaxes under their hands, as out of it as he is, as if he recognizes that he's not in danger. With the shirt off, his bruises are painfully vivid, but it's also clear that the damage is mostly superficial. There are no signs of deformity around his rib cage, and if any of the blood on his shirt was his, it must have come from a bloody nose or bitten tongue, not from deeper and more serious wounds.

"So is he getting his shirt _back?"_ Foggy yells after the two uniforms, who ignore him. His hands are gentle, though, helping Claire hold Matt. "You can't just leave him like this! If this damages his recovery in _any_ way, there is such a lawsuit coming --"

"Foggy -- Foggy. Listen," Claire says, until she has his attention. The law is all he has, she knows; she can help, but Foggy can't, except that way. And perhaps in other ways as well, if she can find something for him to do. "Can you go see if you can find a shirt for Matt?"

"Yeah ... yeah." Foggy gives Matt a distracted pat and scrambles to his feet. "Claire, is he --?"

He doesn't finish, as if he's afraid of the answer.

"He's had the crap beat out of him, as usual," Claire says wryly. Matt is limp and heavy against her, but she can tell he's breathing fine. He's a little bit chilly to the touch.

"Must be a day ending in Y, huh?" Foggy says, trying to smile.

"See if you can find a first-aid kit too," she says, and Foggy nods.

With Foggy out of the room, she does a quick assessment of Matt's injuries. It's as she thought, bruises and basically superficial trauma. He shouldn't even be this deeply unconscious, but then, Luke is too. Misty told her there was some kind of gas at the crime scene, and maybe Matt got a little of it too. Or maybe his body took the opportunity to catch up on a little of the sleep she's confident he doesn't get enough of.

"You sure do complicate my life, Matt Murdock," she mutters, and looks around for a pillow to put under his head.

The door opens. "I got a T-shirt," Foggy says, "and, uh," and he holds the first-aid kit and a wadded-up blue shirt out like an offering. Karen Page is one step behind him.

"How is he?" Karen wants to know.

"No broken bones. He just needs to sleep. Come get me if he has a seizure or if his breathing changes, and see if you can stop him from getting up too soon when he wakes up."

Karen gives a short laugh, and Foggy says, "You want to give us an easier job, like growing wings and flying off the Empire State Building?"

Claire acknowledges the point with a twist of her mouth, and leaves the two of them gently wrestling Matt into the clean shirt, while she goes to sit with Luke. Matt's in good hands, or at least, there's someone to sit on him if he tries to go running off into trouble again.

* * *

She sees Matt again an hour or so later, after Luke's up and about, while they're trying to get the new lady (Jessica is all Claire has caught of her name) released into the custody of the former Nelson & Murdock. Matt has his suit jacket on over the T-shirt, and he's arguing with Misty's captain, then turns away, pressing the heel of his hand against his temple.

"I told your friends to make you lie down," Claire says, and Matt gives her one of the wry, apologetic smiles that makes it hard to stay mad at him, even though she knows better.

"I'm fine."

"Uh-huh, sure, and I'm the medical professional, and you have head trauma, so maybe you could take five minutes and sit down while they go get your client."

Matt grimaces, but he takes a seat in one of the waiting-area chairs. Claire sits next to him. He looks a bit gray, but the station lights make everyone look vaguely corpselike, so it's hard to tell how he's actually doing. She wonders, not for the first time, if the same set of circumstances that gave him enhanced senses also made him a little more durable -- not nearly on Luke's level, but nobody should be able to take as much punishment as Matt does and keep getting up.

Then again, maybe it's just Matt.

"I think I remember you talking to me earlier," Matt says, and Claire smiles. "Or maybe I remember you talking to Foggy. It's all kind of a blur. Were you there?"

"Yes, Matt," she says. "I was there. You know, we really need to stop meeting when you're half conscious and covered in your own blood."

He huffs a soft laugh, little more than a breath. "Yeah, probably." He runs a hand over the metal arm of the chair. "No reason we couldn't get coffee, one of these days."

Now it's Claire's turn for a half-laugh, choked off.

"What?" He looks almost hurt.

"It's not you. Just an in-joke with a friend. Let's make it lunch."

"Yeah," and he flashes her a quick grin, one of the real ones, the kind of smile that reminds her that for all the worry and exasperation, she really _likes_ Matt Murdock. "Let's get together after all this is over, and just have a normal lunch."

"No ninjas," she says.

"No secret death cults."

"Not even a single mob goon or major contusion."

"Well, let's not get too unrealistic," he says, and Claire grins back.

The police are back just then with Matt's client, and Claire gets out of the way. She runs into Luke as she's heading out, and gives his hand a squeeze and looks back for a minute as the three of them rendezvous in the hallway.

Luke seems to think they can find Danny. She hopes he's right.

And after all of this, after they're all back and _safe_ , she plans to hold Matt to that lunch date.

She's looking forward to it.


End file.
